91制片厂

Take a walk through campus and it鈥檚 easy to get lost in 91制片厂鈥檚 natural beauty. Tree-lined sidewalks border burbling streams and wander over gently rolling hills and past jutting rocks. In the silence of a winter snowfall or the glow of a blazing summer sunset, the campus is inviting.

A Brief History of Sustainable Living at 91制片厂

Sustainable living was a thing at 91制片厂 as far back as the 1930s, when a group of students built cabins in woodlands owned by forestry professor Karl Woodward, where they heated and cooked with woodstoves and lived rent-free. In 1974, the Thompson School and the 91制片厂 student housing office launched a joint project that took that same concept a step further, creating a completely self-sustainable student farm. Called Highland House, the off-campus farm included a nursery, Christmas tree farm and orchard; students raised beef and grew vegetables, cut cordwood, made maple syrup and did all their own cooking and baking. Two years later, 91制片厂 debuted a minidorm devoted to the environment, , to which its 50 resident students soon added solar panels, a solar hot-water heater and a southern-exposure greenhouse to generate heat. Woodruff residents also organized an energy-saving competition among the minidorms and were behind the first campus 鈥淪un Day,鈥� in 1978 鈥� the same year 45 Thompson School students enrolled in the university鈥檚 new energy management program. The first of its kind in the nation, the program taught students to evaluate existing energy systems and calculate the cost savings of alternative conservation methods.

In that invitation is a question, a challenge to be sustainable: How do we want to leave the world?

鈥淥ne of the features we have going for us is the natural beauty of the university,鈥� says Heidi Bostic, dean of the . 鈥淚t uplifts us and reminds us of the fragility of life and the importance of being good stewards.鈥�

Because that question is built into the landscape itself, the idea and practice of sustainability rests in everything 91制片厂 does. For faculty, staff and students, sustainability isn鈥檛 a passing fad or window dressing. It鈥檚 an ongoing practice so central to the university鈥檚 identity that, without it, 91制片厂 simply wouldn鈥檛 be 91制片厂.

Deep roots

It鈥檚 impossible to talk about sustainability at 91制片厂 without talking about the Hubbard family. Oliver Hubbard 鈥�21 and his brothers, Austin 鈥�25 and Leslie 鈥�27, parlayed their 91制片厂 education into a massively successful poultry business. In later years, their focus turned to philanthropy, and Oliver鈥檚 particularly to sustainability. A series of gifts from the eldest Hubbard in the 1990s resulted in the endowment that launched the and established the Climate Change Research Center, among many other programs.

Peter Lamb 鈥�76 was part of the team of 91制片厂 staff members who facilitated Oliver Hubbard鈥檚 gifts. At the time, 鈥渨e were trying to think about how to connect some of the natural resource-based sustainability principles that were coming out of , but also how to live what we teach 鈥� how the whole campus could really embrace these principles,鈥� Lamb says.

Oliver Hubbard helped make that possible. With the gift, 91制片厂 became the first university with an endowed sustainability program. 鈥淭he Hubbards were out in front of the horizon. Rather than waiting for something to be put in place and support it, they were and are the kind of people who continue to help 91制片厂 evolve and remain on the cutting edge. That鈥檚 the way they ran their business, and it鈥檚 part of their legacy here,鈥� Lamb says.

Yes, sustainability means recycling and renewable energy. But it鈥檚 also campus culture, inclusivity, interdisciplinarity 鈥� and much more

Sustainability runs like a current through 91制片厂, continually shaping our approach to education, research and practice. It is one of the university鈥檚 core values, helping to define 91制片厂鈥檚 culture and informing our behavior, and is a guiding principle in everything we do. As a land, sea and space grant university, we use a community-based approach to learning and a systems approach to solving problems. This is evident in our longstanding dedication to the meaningful creation of knowledge and our shared investment in our accomplishments.

The 1992 Earth Summit was an unprecedented global gathering of heads of state and representatives from more than 170 governments, including the United States, that reoriented international development to include principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic vitality to meet the needs of present and future generations. As recently as 2000, the term sustainability was understood to mean 鈥渕eeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.鈥� Today, 91制片厂 and others in the field view sustainability as a collective commitment to human dignity for all people and ecological integrity in all places. Its foundation is an intergenerational, ethical obligation that regards social justice, collaboration and inclusive prosperity as essential to fulfill diverse human potential and preserve the health of the planet upon which we all depend. There鈥檚 a growing understanding that sustainability is much more than environmentalism, rooted as it is in leveraging economics, culture, resources and technology to plan for an uncertain future.

The challenges we face are daunting 鈥� climate change, ecosystem degradation, food insecurity, destabilized governments, racial and economic inequality and more. At 91制片厂, we believe that if we harness the power of our community to answer the call of these extraordinary times, our impact will be significant and proportional to the transformation needed. To do so, we must recast challenges as opportunities to find common cause and work collectively toward a vibrant future.

Connecting the dots

That core commitment to sustainability is part of the university鈥檚 infrastructure. It鈥檚 everywhere, from student organizations to large initiatives like the , and from small projects like capturing unused mechanical energy in university facilities to massive undertakings such as the goal of making a zero-waste facility.

The sits at the center of a web of connections across campus. The institute doesn鈥檛 oversee every project, course or program that involves sustainability 鈥� there are so many that it would be impossible 鈥� but it does convene, cultivate and champion conversations about sustainability on campus, throughout New Hampshire and around the world.

Those conversations happen informally and formally, in laboratories and dorms and regular meetings of the institute鈥檚 . The task forces approach sustainability from myriad angles, looking at transportation policy, energy, campus aesthetics, the ecosystem, zero-waste initiatives and sustainable investing.

鈥淭he challenge is to make sure we鈥檙e connecting the dots between the disparate conversations and helping create and enhance the alignment between different task forces, which are often quite related,鈥� says sustainability project director Jenn Andrews.

Membership on the task forces is inclusive, with faculty, staff and students all playing a role. In Cameron Wake鈥檚 global environmental change class, Wake asks his students to brainstorm ideas about how 91制片厂 can continue to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

鈥淚 get about 12 to 15 of these ideas and then filter them back to the energy task force, so we have students out there thinking about the problem and generating ideas,鈥� he says. 鈥淐ollaboration is challenging and takes time and effort, but it鈥檚 exactly that collaboration we need to drive these cross-campus efforts and make them successful.鈥�

In the classroom and out in the world

The campus also provides fertile ground for sustainability-minded students to pursue their passions. Student groups like the and others offer opportunities to take direct action with events like the annual yard sale.

Trash 2 Treasure is one of 91制片厂鈥檚 enduring sustainability success stories. Started seven years ago by Alex Freid 鈥�13, the sale collects common dorm items discarded at the end of every school year 鈥斕齝ouches, lamps, microwaves, etc. 鈥� organizes them, and offers them for sale when students return for the new academic year. The sale has diverted close to 150 tons of reusable material from landfills, Freid says. And it also formed the basis for the , Freid鈥檚 national nonprofit that works with more than 100 campuses to develop zero-waste initiatives.

Students are involved in the classroom, too. A recent survey by the Sustainability Institute found that 31 percent of students considered sustainability as a factor when enrolling at 91制片厂. Of the total respondents, 54 percent said sustainability is personally important to them and to their likely career path, while 59 percent indicated they would take or choose sustainability-related degrees. Academic programs like the , the and the help students chart a path for their own sustainable future.

鈥淔ood cuts across agriculture 鈥� it includes growing, producing and distributing food; food preparation, selling and serving; and nutrition and health 鈥� along with the greater influence of political and social systems on food,鈥� says Dan Winans, director of the ecogastronomy dual major. 鈥淭he major is an opportunity for students to go further and broaden their understanding of the food system.鈥�

Sustainable systems

by faculty across campus are part of that infrastructure. The emphasis on, and enthusiasm for, sustainability is found across disciplines. From Wake鈥檚 research on climate change and other projects at the Institute on Earth, Oceans, and Space, the Shoals Marine Lab and other 91制片厂 colleges to new sustainability-focused courses in the humanities and social sciences, each project, initiative and group builds on itself.

鈥淲e just did a round of funding small grants for designing and redesigning courses to incorporate sustainability,鈥� says Stephen Trzaskoma, professor of classics and director of RGSCP. 鈥淭here were so many great proposals from different disciplines, and I was particularly struck by how many came from the humanities, and often from unexpected places. I think we鈥檙e likely to see more and more faculty finding ways to connect their work to the broader questions that overlap with issues of sustainability.鈥�

Those collaborations extend into the wider community. , , and other organizations work with communities in New Hampshire and beyond to develop sustainable responses to climate change, food systems, social justice and hundreds of other issues.

The efforts show no signs of slowing down. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e considered one of the leaders in sustainability across the country, but I don鈥檛 see any of us resting on our laurels. In fact, I see a more aggressive attitude toward sustainability,鈥� says Clay Mitchell, a lecturer with the department of natural resources and the environment and a member of the Sustainability Institute鈥檚 energy task force.

The commitment to sustainability is so deep that, at times, it can seem overwhelming. Relax for a moment and take a walk, though, and you鈥檒l see how vital it is.听

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